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The study by the Future Foundation think-tank for Friends Life exposed the gap in understanding between the genders about their pensions.

Asked if they knew their pension would allow them to retire early, nearly two-thirds of men said they knew, compared to just 47 per cent of women.

Martin Palmer, head of corporate benefits marketing at Friends Life, said: 'Women are taking greater control of their money but still appear to be disengaged with pensions, whether due to career breaks, lack of flexibility in their working arrangements or simply because they find them confusing.

Just under half of men were aware of where their pensions were invested against 37 per cent of women

'Our research suggests that women, more than men, are failing to grasp the urgency of the looming pensions crisis.

'This is borne out by our own figures, which show average pension contributions made by women have decreased in value.

'When
you couple this with the increase in state pension age, women seemingly
have a rougher ride in the years ahead than their male counterparts.

'It
is vitally important that savers, and especially women, focus on the
long term to make adequate preparations for their retirement.'

The report said young people needed to
abandon their 'here and now' focus and instead work towards 'deferred
gratification' by saving for their retirement.

The
reasons for lack of interest could be because pensions seem
'inaccessible and intangible', as well as being risky and a long way
away, the study said.

Some 71 per cent of respondents felt
there was too little information provided about pensions, with 57 per
cent saying they found pension schemes confusing.

The reasons given for not paying into a pension scheme included having other financial commitments, while others felt pension schemes were too risky.

Researchers discovered just over a third of 18 to 34-year-olds felt they were too young to worry about their pension provision.

The report also said there was a growing expectation from workers that a 'paternal employer' should hand them solutions to their everyday life.

Employees believe their employers should provide them with a pension to give them security in later life but few took enough interest to understand what their employer was offering.

The report was based on 1,000 online responses from men and women aged 18-plus.